Ron Ellis
Born (1945-01-08) January 8, 1945
Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
National team  Canada
Playing career 1963–1981

Ronald John Edward Ellis (born January 8, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Ellis played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ellis won the Stanley Cup in 1967, and took part in the famed 1972 Summit Series against the Russian National team. After playing, Ellis went into business, and later joined the staff of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Ellis was signed by the Leafs and played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1961–1964. He played on the team that won the Memorial Cup in 1964. Ellis became a full-time Leaf in 1964–65 and played 11 seasons to 1974–75, winning the Stanley Cup in 1967.

Ellis was also a member of Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series, one of only seven Canadians to play every game in the series, and part of the only line to play together for every game, with centre Bobby Clarke and left winger Paul Henderson.

Ellis retired at age 30 during Leafs training camp in 1975, coming off the most productive season of his career with 61 points. He said he no longer had the desire to play and denied that his decision had anything to do with being passed over as team captain in favour of Darryl Sittler a month earlier.

In 1977, Ellis came out of retirement to play for Canada at the world hockey championships and then decided to resume his NHL career with the Leafs in 1977–78.

Punch Imlach was hired as general manager of the Leafs for the 1979–80 season and didn't feel that Ellis was worth the money he was being paid. He offered to buy out Ellis's contract at the end of the season, but the two couldn't reach an agreement. Despite objections from new coach Mike Nykoluk, Imlach put Ellis on waivers during the 1980–81 season and gave him an ultimatum: retire or be sent to the minor leagues. The 36-year-old Ellis chose to retire. He had played 1,034 career NHL games scoring 332 goals and 308 assists for 640 points.

After his life in hockey, worked as a teacher and in insurance. For six years, Ellis ran his own sporting goods store. In 1993, he joined the Hockey Hall of Fame as a director of public affairs and assistant to the president.[1] As of 2014, Ellis is still director of public affairs for the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The stresses of life after hockey took its toll. In 1986 a bout with clinical depression began. He would later go public with his story by writing a book with Kevin Shea titled Over The Boards: The Ron Ellis Story, published in 2002. Today, he is a speaker on the importance of diagnosing and treating clinical depression.

On October 17, 2016, Ellis was part of a healthy class inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, where he thanked Jim Gregory as his mentor and coach.[2]

Awards and achievements

Ellis earned an unusual tribute in 1968 when former Leafs star Ace Bailey—then working as a timekeeper at Maple Leaf Gardens—declared that he admired Ellis so much, he wanted the team to give his retired #6 to Ellis. Bailey's number had been retired following his career-ending injury in 1933. Ellis, who had been wearing #8, changed to #6 for the rest of his career, after which the number was re-retired.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1960–61Toronto MarlborosOHA-Jr.32130—————
1961–62Toronto MarlborosOHA-Jr.33171229161265114
1962–63Toronto MarlborosOHA-Jr.3621224381099182
1963–64Toronto MarlborosOHA-Jr.544638842094101410
1963–64Toronto Maple LeafsNHL10000—————
1963–64Toronto MarlborosMC—————859146
1964–65Toronto Maple LeafsNHL622316391463032
1965–66Toronto Maple LeafsNHL701923422440002
1966–67Toronto Maple LeafsNHL6722234514122134
1967–68Toronto Maple LeafsNHL742820488—————
1968–69Toronto Maple LeafsNHL722521461242132
1969–70Toronto Maple LeafsNHL7635195414—————
1970–71Toronto Maple LeafsNHL782429531061122
1971–72Toronto Maple LeafsNHL782324471751124
1972–73Toronto Maple LeafsNHL7822295122—————
1973–74Toronto Maple LeafsNHL702325481242130
1974–75Toronto Maple LeafsNHL793229612573032
1977–78Toronto Maple LeafsNHL8026245017133250
1978–79Toronto Maple LeafsNHL631612281061122
1979–80Toronto Maple LeafsNHL59121123630000
1980–81Toronto Maple LeafsNHL272352—————
NHL totals 1,034 332 308 640 207 70 18 8 26 20

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1972 Canada SS 8 0 3 3 8
1977 Canada WC 10 5 4 9 2
Senior totals 18 5 7 12 10

International play

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kearney, Mark; Ray, Randy (2009). The Big Book of Canadian Trivia. Dundurn Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-55488-417-9.
  2. ↑ "Fernandez put Cleveland in its last WS, now Ontario HOFer". www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
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